Thesis Sequence (2 courses)

Four (4) Elective Courses

Electives, which may include Special Topics Courses, an Independent Study, or a 3-credit Internship, in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), motion capture, user-experience design (UX), live performance, sound, cinema, interaction design, game design, and web to raise your expertise level in a particular area.

Special Topics courses, taught by regular and adjunct faculty, are selected each year from a group of possible courses based on the interests of the first-year class. For example, if the entering DM class is specifically interested in UX/UI or Mobile Application Development (based on its project work in the first-semester seminar), the faculty will “commission” an elective on that topic.

Independent Study enrollment is permitted for DM students interested in specific research areas outside of the electives offered.

Internships are available for students seeking to gain job experience outside of the School of Engineering in the commercial or nonprofit sector. Students should contact the instructor for DM 4034 Internship one semester in advance to prepare for the internship. Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for internships for credit.

Students can take graduate courses offered by other departments at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, including Tech Management and Innovation, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering and others. After the first semester of study, students can also take up to 3 elective, graduate courses offered through other NYU schools.

Graduate Colloquium

The graduate colloquium which is more like a gathering than a course is required every semester you are enrolled and is 0-credits, pass/fail. The graduate colloqium is where ALL current graduate students get to meet one another in the program on a weekly basis. During the grad colloquium, there may be talks by practicing artists, designers, programmers, entrepreneurs, and creative technologists. The purpose of the grad colloquium is to enhance our graduate community so students can get to know one another and their work, as well as build and cultivate professional networks.

Recommended sequence of courses

This is the recommended sequence of courses. However, other combinations are possible. Please discuss with Eric Maiello, IDM's Coordinator of Academic Programs.

Alongside the grad colloquium, we highly suggest that you take 3 courses at 3 credits per course for your first 3 semesters and take only the thesis course in your final semester. It is required that you enroll in the pre-thesis and thesis courses sequentially (not concurrently) in your final two semesters. Below is an example of the distribution of credit requirements.